The pearl dress was designed by Francisco Costa (b. 1964), the Women’s Creative Director for the Calvin Klein Collection, which is part of the American fashion house of Calvin Klein. The garment was adorned with 6,000 white pearls of various sizes, with the largest pearls forming a heavy collar around the neck and front opening. The skirt of the dress was decorated with lengths of six or so pearls in ‘randomly’ placed vertical lines.
Nyong’o described the dress as being a homage to the sea, adding that it was designed to be fluid and liquid. It is reported that the dress was worth US$ 150,000. The dress became even more newsworthy as it was apparently stolen from her room at the London West Hollywood Hotel, in the evening of 24th February 2015. A few days later, the dress was returned, with the message that the pearls were fake.
See also the TRC Needles entry on pearl embroidery.
Sources:
- http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/26/oscars-stolen-pearl-dress-lupita-nyongo (retrieved 27 May 2016).
- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31653827 (retrieved 27 May 2016).
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 27 May 2016)
GVE